Closet door opens just a bit

Gwen Knapp

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, March 11, 2010

Ohio State's Jim Tressel ripped up a stereotype recently. A football coach who wears sweater vests and describes his job as a ministry doesn't necessarily endorse the longstanding code of silence for gay athletes.

In an interview with Outlook Columbus magazine, Tressel very eloquently explained that an openly gay player would be welcome in the Buckeyes locker room.

"Whatever a young man feels called to express, I hope we will help him do it in a supportive environment," Tressel wrote in an e-mail response to the magazine, which styles itself as an advocacy publication. "Everybody is important, and maturity is learning to find and appreciate those differences in others."

In the history of big-time college football, no active gay player has ever publicly exited the closet. In the professional ranks, no gay athlete from a major men's team sport - NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB - has felt free to discuss his personal life as openly as straight players, whose wives and children are typically listed in the official media guides.

But the times are changing rapidly. Charles Barkley, as much the voice of the NBA as its commissioner, has become a vocal supporter of gay rights in the last few years.

Michael Daniels, who did the Tressel interview for Outlook Columbus, said the magazine had contacted Fujita's representatives and been assured: "As soon as Scott gets settled in Cleveland, we'd love to work with you."

Both NFL players have ties to Northern California. Ayanbadejo attended Santa Cruz High, and Fujita played for Cal. It's not that surprising to see them swimming outside the mainstream of sports. Then along came Tressel, calling a sweep play for the mainstream.

Daniels said he expected Ohio State or Tressel to "respectfully decline" his interview request. Instead, he was told to send questions by e-mail, Tressel's preferred method of dealing with individual media inquiries. The coach's thoughtful responses didn't surprise him as much as it did outsiders, pointing out that Columbus has a reputation as an extremely gay-friendly city.

"We live in a little bubble here," he said. "A lot of people in Columbus don't see why this is a big deal. I've had to explain it to them."

He has been very heartened to see straight athletes standing up for gay rights. So when will gay athletes feel comfortable enough to be completely open, bringing a same-sex partner to Family Day, listing him in the media guide?

Acceptance in the locker room may already be more advanced than anyone imagines. At Pat Tillman's memorial service six years ago, his linebackers coach from Arizona State, Lyle Setencich, described one of his late-night conversations with the athlete-turned-soldier. The ever-challenging Tillman asked if Setencich believed that he could coach gay players. Setencich said he replied: "I can and I have."

Going completely public, however, requires vaulting another obstacle: the distraction problem. A true team player, after all, doesn't encourage journalists to swarm around his cubicle and then ask his colleagues how they feel about his sexual-orientation coming-out party. The fuss could interfere with team chemistry.

But the Browns had to know where Fujita stood politically. That could be a distraction; they still signed him. Tim Tebow starred in a subtle, yet controversial anti-abortion Super Bowl ad, yet his throwing mechanics remain the biggest concern about drafting him next month.

In St. Louis, Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa has made restoring Mark McGwire's legacy, and, indirectly, his own, part of the 2010 agenda. How many times will Albert Pujols have to foul off questions about having a hitting coach who used steroids while breaking Roger Maris' home-run record?

If that's an acceptable distraction, then the Cardinals' clubhouse would be the perfect venue for the game's first openly gay player. The team should welcome the diversion from the McGwire distraction. Honesty would be a lovely side effect.

The man in the sweater vest sums it up perfectly:

"We try to tell our guys that an authentic you is the best you," Tressel wrote to the magazine. "That's truly what freedom means, and the beauty of living in America."